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THIS MONTH ON MOMMY DIARIES

5.01.2009

One Hour Craft - Fabric Pennant Banner

Yay, another craft!! In past few years, I've realized what a stress reliever it is for me to create. I was completely inspired and in love with Pres. Uchtdorf's talk on creating.... (if you haven't read it, PLEASE do, it will lift your spirits in an amazing way!) along with thousands of other women, I'm sure. Working with my hands and creating something is the most satisfying feeling ever!

So, on to this months craft. It is SUPER easy and SO fun, I have plans to make one for many occasions, birthday's, Easter, Fourth of July, etc. I just imagine one of these draped across the mantle on my fireplace for every holiday! :)

What you need:

fabric, as many pieces/scraps as you want, or enough for as long as you want your banner

either bias tape or ribbon

thread

fusible interfacing (don't get scared, you can buy this by the yard or in little packages. It is irons on and is used to make your pennants a little stiffer. If your fabric is really thin, use a stronger, thicker interfacing. If your fabric is home decor fabric or a little thicker, you can use a thinner interfacing.) sidenote: if you don't want to use interfacing, you can do fabric on both sides of your pennant, just sew right sides together, leave top open, turn right side out, iron, and sew the top closed when you sew on the ribbon. I didn't do this because I didn't want to use that much material or take that long, and I knew the back of mine wouldn't be showing. I may do this in the future if the back is going to show.

What you do:

1. Pick fabric, I'm using fabric that goes with a car mat rug of my son's. I wanted to bring out the blues and oranges in the rug.

2. Grab a paper bag, cute it open and make yourself a pattern for your pennants. Paper bags are great because you can pin them over and over and they won't rip, yet they are thin enough that it makes them easy to work with. 3. Using your paper bag patterns, cut out your material, fold it in half so you can do two at a time. Two at a time makes it quick, plus I wasn't doing too many! Then after they are cut out, cut out the interfacing using your pattern as well.

4. Iron on the fusible interfacing, the directions normally come on the package, but if you don't know, ask the craft people at the craft store. Make sure you put the fabric and interfacing on right sides or you'll stick your interfacing to your ironing board. yes, I'm speaking from experience. I use a little water bottle because I think the steam helps really stick it.5. Lay out your pennants and decide what order you'll sew them. Since you used the interfacing, you don't have to sew around the edges unless you want to. 6. If you want to spell something out, now is the time to cut our your letters (use your paper bag as a template again!) and place them on your pennants. When your done, sew them in place.7. Cut your ribbon. You can do a couple different things here. I cut a little ribbon for each pennant, then knotted them together to join the pennants. You can do one long ribbon or use bias tape, you do the same for both.... fold them over the top and sew. I have two longer pieces of ribbon for the ends incase I need to tie it around something to hang it up.8. Sew the ribbon to the top of your pennants.After they are all sewn, tie them together in the middle and ta da! You are done! I loved this craft, I thought it was so fun, and my little boy is super excited about it. I think I'll find some fun hooks/knobs to hang on his wall and use them to hang up his banner. I think something like this would make really cute curtains as well. If you need more inspiration, check out this ADORABLE party banner at The Purl Bee. I found LOTS of ideas and inspiration on Etsy as well! Have crafting, post pictures when you are done!!